r 


Experience  of 
A  Recruit 

in  the_^ 
United  States 
Army 


W ashinglon 
Government  Printing  Office 


1916 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/experienceofrecr00lyon_0 


War  Department, 

The  Adjutant  General’s  Office, 

Wasliington,  D.  C.,  May  o,  1916. 

With  the  view  of  presenting  to  all  concerned  the  actual  experiences 
of  a  young  man  who  enlists  in  the  United  States  Arrny,  the  following 
extracts  from  the  Columbus  Citizen,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  are  repub¬ 
lished.  This  tale  of  human  interest  was  published  in  the  newspaper 
mentioned  from  March  31  to  April  4,  1916,  and,  as  stated  in  the 
editor’s  note,  depicts  the  actual  experiences  of  a  newspaper  reporter 
detailed  to  find  out  and  tell  the  Citizen  readers  how  the  United  States 
prepares  its  soldiers  for  duty.  These  articles  are  republished  with¬ 
out  comment,  as  it  is  obvious  that  comment  is  unnecessary. 

H.  P.  McCain, 

The  Adjutant  General. 

1 


41385°— 16 


EXPERIENCE  OF  A  RECRUIT  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  ARMY. 

By  C.  C.  Lyox. 


[Issue  of  March  30,  1916.] 

I’m  a  private  in  the  United  States  Regular  Army  now.  , 

Half  the  civilized  world  is  at  war. 

Tlie  United  States  has  rushed  practically  every  available  regular 
to  the  Mexican  border  and  has  sent  several  thousand  into  Mexico 
to  capture  the  bandit  Villa  ‘Ulead  or  alive.” 

President  Wilson  is  vigorously  urging  preparedness  for  national 
defense. 

Congress  has  just  authorized  a  considerable  increase  in  the  Regu¬ 
lar  Army. 

More  young  men  are  now  joining  the  colors  than  in  many  years. 

The  Ohio  Militia  and  that  of  other  States,  are  on  their  toes,  readv 
for  a  possible  call  to  border  duty. 

What  about  the  thousands  of  men  who  are  doing  the  drilling  and 
who  will  do  the  fighting  and  the  dying  if  trouble  comes  ? 

What  class  of  fellows  are  they? 

Why  do  they  join  the  Army? 

What  does  the  Army  do  for  them  and  to  them  during  their  enhst- 
ment  ? 

What  chance  for  promotion  has  an  enlisted  man  ? 

LYON  DID  EVERYTHING  RECRUIT  DOES  EXCEPT  ENLIST  AND  TAKE 

THE  OATH. 

It  was  to  find  answers  to  these  questions  that  I  went  into  the  Army. 
I  wanted  to  see  the  machinery  of  the  Army  working  from  the  inside. 

I  didn’t  tie  myself  up  for  a  three-year  enlistment.  By  special 
arrangement  with  high  Army  officials,  I  was  permitted  to  “join,” 
hut  the  door  was  left  open  so  I  could  get  out  when  I  had  gathered 
aU  the  information  I  was  after.  The  only  detail  I  omitted  was  the 
signing  of  the  enlistment  papers  and  the  taking  of  the  oath. 

I  am  now  at  the  Columbus  Barracks,  where  Regular  Army  recruits 
from  14  States  are  collected  and  whipped  into  shape  for  real  service. 

Editor’s  Note. — C.  C.  Lyon,  Citizen  reporter,  is  now  in  the  United  States  Regular  Army,  stationed 
at  the  Columbus  Barracks,  to  find  out  and  tell  Citizen  readers  how  Uncle  Sam  prepares  his  soldiers  for 
duty.  This  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  articles  which  will  be  published  from  time  to  time  as  Lyon’s  experiences 
develop. 

2 


3 


Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army. 

I^m  sleeping,  eating,  and  drilling,  with  the  Tenth  Recruit  Company, 
United  States  Army,  Capt.  Mason  commanding,  and  First  Lieut. 
Thompson  next  in  command. 

Seventy-two  of  us  recruits  presented  ourselves  at  the  barracks 
receiving  station  the  same  morning. 

One  of  the  first  questions  the  sergeant  in  charge  asked  was: 

When  did  you  have  a  bath  last  V’ 

Those  of  us  who  could  show  visible  proof  of  acquaintance  with  a 
tub  within  three  days  were  waived  aside.  For  the  rest  it  was  a  hot 
shower  with  plenty  of  soap  and  scrubbing. 

‘^The  first  thing  you  learn  in  the  Army  is  to  keep  clean,'’  the 
sergeant  told  us. 

We  were  a  nondescript  crowd  that  went  to  the  hospital  for  physical 
examination. 

Most  of  the  fellows  were  between  19  and  24.  A  majority  of  us 
slouched  along  as  we  walked,  making  no  effort  at  erect  carriage. 
Only  a  few  w^ere  well  dressed.  Several  looked  like  down-and-outers. 
A  good  many  were  smoking  cigarettes. 

DESIRE  FOR  ADVENTURE  ATTRACTS  MANY  YOUNG  MEN  INTO  THE  ARMY. 

Why  do  young  men  join  the  Army? 

While  we  loafed  at  the  hospital  I  talked  with  a  lot  of  my  fellow 
recruits. 

‘M'm  after  a  crack  at  that  fellow  Villa,"  said  one. 

‘Mf  you'd  see  the  town  I  came  from  you'd  know,"  said  another. 
‘‘Deadest  place  in  Georgia.  I  worked  in  a  grocery  store.  I  want 
to  see  something." 

“I  and  my  girl  had  a  falling  out  and  I  threatened  to  join  the  Army. 
She  said  I  didn't  have  the  nerve,"  said  a  third. 

Most  of  the  boys  said  they  craved  adventure  and  excitement  and 
thought  they  could  get  it  soldiering.  Stories  of  the  Villa  hunt, 
almost  without  exception,  had  aroused  their  fighting  spirit. 

Six  of  the  72  backed  out  before  the  physical  examinations  began. 
That  is  a  privilege  with  recruits,  I  learned;  they  may  change  their 
mind  and  stay  out  provided  they  haven't  signed  enlistment  papers 
and  taken  the  oath. 

“What's  the  matter,  brother?"  I  asked  one  of  the  quitters. 

“Cold  feet,  I  guess,"  he  said.  “I  think  I'll  go  into  the  Navy." 

He  was  from  South  Carolina  and  the  Government  had  paid  his 
way  to  the  Columbus  Barracks.  He  was  dead  broke.  It  was  walk 
back  home  or  ride  freights  for  those  who  ‘  ‘  declined,"  if  they  happened 
to  be  broke. 

The  physical  examinations  of  the  rest  of  us  required  all  morning 
and  was  machine-like  in  precision. 


4  Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army. 

The  examining  officers  divided  us  into  two  groups,  photographed 
and  finger-printed  us  and  then  had  us  change  to  our  Garden  of  Eden 
costume. 

‘G’U  now  test  your  lungs, the  chief  examiner  called  out  and  then 
he  went  rapidly  down  the  line  thumping  and  testing  with  medical 
instruments  each  man  in  his  turn. 

^^Now  your  hearts.’’  He  made  us  hop  on  one  foot  two  or  three 
times  around  the  big  room  and  then  applied  another  instrument. 

As  he  found  a  defect  in  a  recruit  he  called  it  out  and  a  clerk  put  it 
down. 

LYON  HAS  FLAT  FEET. 

lie  was  testing  our  feet  and  he  reached  me. 

^^Call  out  your  name,”  he  commanded. 

^^Lyon,”  I  said. 

^^Flat  feet  in  the  first  degree  for  Lyon,”  he  told  the  clerk. 

^AYould  that  disqualify  me?”  I  asked. 

‘‘Not  first  degree  flat  feet.  But  third  degree  would.  We’ll  fix' 
you  up  with  proper  shoes.” 

Later  he  declared  I  needed  some  dental  work.  Nearly  two-thirds 
of  all  the  recruits  examined  had  something  the  matter  with  their 
teeth. 

The  medical  examiner  tested  us  for  every  disease  and  ailment  I 
ever  heard  of  and  many  I’d  never  heard  of. 

Tlien  he  turned  us  over  to  an  eye,  ear,  and  nose  speciahst — an 
Army  officer,  who  put  us  through  his  tests. 

Only  six  were  rejected  for  physical  disabilities. 

We  recessed  for  dinner. 

INSURED  AGAINST  DISEASE. 

“Now  we’re  going  to  vaccinate  you,”  the  sergeant  in  charge  said, 
when  we  returned  to  the  hospital.  They  marched  us  into  a  sort  of 
operating  room. 

“Let  me  say  first  that  if  any  of  you  men  get  sick  while  we’re  work¬ 
ing  on  you,  just  lie  right  down  on  the  floor.  It’ll  be  all  right,”  said 
the  chief  in  charge. 

We  stripped  to  the  waist  and  as  we  marched  past  a  table  one 
attendant  dabbed  our  left  arms  with  alcohol,  another  attendant 
painted  a  part  of  the  arm  with  iodine,  and  a  third  one  scratched  us 
each  with  a  vaccinating  needle. 

“This  is  for  smallpox,”  the  chief  said.  “Now  to  inoculate  you 
against  typhoid,”  he  added. 

This  was  more  painful.  He  jabbed  us  with  a  big  S3U*inge  just 
around  the  corner  from  the  smallpox  wound,  on  the  left  arm,  and 
shot  wffiat  seemed  to  be  about  a  spoonful  of  medicine  into  each  of  us. 


Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army.  5 


TOOK  SOME  OF  HIS  BLOOD. 

.  The  blood  test  was  the  most  painful  of  all. 

^^We  want  about  a  thimbleful  of  your  blood  to  make  the  Wasser- 
mann  blood  test,”  we  were  told. 

We  bared  our  right  arms.  Only  a  few  were  allowed  in  the  room  at 
a  time. 

^Ot’s  not  a  bad  idea  to  look  out  of  the  window  at  the  scenery 
while  we  he  doing  this,”  I  was  told. 

One  attendant  tightly  bound  my  arm  below  the  elbow  and  I  was 
told  to  clench  my  fist  tightly.  As  I  did  so  another  operator  stuck  a 
rather  large  pump  affair  into  the  most  prominent  artery.  The  out¬ 
side  scenery  had  ceased  to  interest  me  and  I  turned  just  in  time  to 
see  a  small  test  tube  filling  with  my  life’s  blood. 

BIG  OUTFIT  OF  CLOTHING. 

Being  fitted  out  with  clothing,  shoes,  and  toilet  kit  was  the  pleas¬ 
antest  stunt  of  the  day. 

There  was  a  noncommissioned  officer  at  the  supply  station  who 
would  take  just  one  look  at  the  recruit  and  call  out  to  clerks  the  size 
of  a  suit  that  would  fit  him. 

That  man’s  judgment  was  well-nigh  perfect.  Out  of  the  60  men 
he  outfitted  that  afternoon,  ho  made  only  four  bad  guesses. 

“He’s  been  fitting  out  recruits  for  25  years  and  is  the  best  in  the 
Army,”  Sergt.  Simpson,  our  guide,  told  us  proudly. 

Each  of  us  received  an  olive-drab  uniform  cap  and  overcoat,  two 
pairs  of  tan  shoes,  leggings,  four  suits  of  underwear,  six  pairs  of  socks, 
a  suit  of  overalls,  and  a  soldier’s  toilet  kit,  which  contained  a  razor, 
shaving  brush,  soap,  shoe  brush  and  polish,  clothes  brush,  tooth 
brush,  hair  brush  and  comb,  and  mending  outfit. 

SELL  CIVILIAN  CLOTHES. 

“Now,  get  into  your  uniforms,”  commanded  Sergt.  Simpson. 

A  second-hand  clothing  man  was  at  the  receiving  station  to  buy 
our  civilian  clothes  if  we  cared  to  sell.  Some  of  the  boys  got  as  much 
as  $2  for  their  entire  wardrobe.  I  had  mine  sent  home. 

They  divided  us  into  platoons  of  16  men  each  for  assignment  to 
barracks  and  drill  sergeants. 

I  went  to  Company  10,  Sergt.  Watt,  along  with  15  other  new  men. 

“You’ll  like  Watt,”  said  Sergt.  Simpson,  as  he  marched  us  over 
to  the  Tenth’s  barracks.  “He’s  seen  27  years  in  the  iVrmy.  There’s 
none  better  when  it  comes  to  drilling.” 


6  Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army. 

[Issue  of  March  31,  1916.] 

DriU!  Drill!  Drill! 

Drill  is  the  big  word  in  an  Army  post  dictionary. 

Left,  right;  left,  right;  one,  two,  three,  four;  one,  two,  three, 
four! 

The  sergeants  bark  it  at  you  every  minute  you  are  on  the  drill 
grounds. 

And  right  here  let  me  say  the  drill  sergeants  are  the  backbone  of 
an  Army  recruiting  post. 

Whether  the  recruit  will  make  a  good  soldier  depends  largely  on 
the  drill  sergeant. 

Take  Sergt.  Watt,  for  instance,  the  drill  sergeant  who  puts  me 
through  my  paces  for  nearly  three  hours  every  day. 

Watt  met  our  platoon  of  16  men  at  the  barracks  door  that  first 
evening  when  Sergt.  Simpson  led  us  from  the  receiving  station,  all 
dressed  up  in  our  Army  uniforms. 

^^Gee,  but  that  fellow  looks  stern,”  I  thought  to  myself  after  my 
first  glance  at  Watt. 

A  middle-aged  man,  with  a  grave,  serious  face,  but  every  inch  a 
soldier.  That’s  the  man  I  saw. 

We  certainly  did  not  look  much  like  soldiers.  All  seemed  strangely 
awkward  in  their  new  “rookie”  clothes. 

WATCHED  OVER  ’eM  LIKE  A  FATHER  THE  FIRST  NIGHT. 

“Now,  men,”  ho  said,  or  rather  commanded,  by  way  of  introduc¬ 
tion,  ‘^get  a  move  on;  lay  your  things  on  those  bunks  and  come  to 
my  desk;  I  want  to  talk  to  you.” 

We  instantly  felt  he  was  not  a  man  to  be  trifled  with,  and  we 
promptly  got  a  move  on. 

“  I  don’t  want  one  of  you  men  to  leave  this  room  to-night,”  he  said 

Jaws  dropped  all  around  me.  My  own  dropped  a  little.  Nearly 
everyone  of  us  had  personal  plans  outside  the  post. 

“I  have  a  good  reason,”  he  continued.  “You’ve  all  been  vaccinated 
and  inoculated  to-day,  and  you  are  liable  to  bo  sick  to-night.  I  want 
you  here  where  I  can  look  after  you.” 

I  decided  right  then  I  was  going  to  like  Sergt.  Watt. 

And  Sergt.  Watt’s  attitude,  I  have  found,  is  typical  of  the  service. 

The  United  States  Government  looks  after  its  fighters — their 
health,  morals,  and  physical  development  to  minute  details,  and  their 
mental  development  to  a  certain  extent. 

Every  day  Sergt.  Watt  devoted  one  hour  to  lecturing  us. 

Editor’s  note. — C.  C.  Lyon,  reporter  for  the  Citizen,  is  now  in  the  United  States  Regular  Army,  drill¬ 
ing  at  the  Columbus  Barracks,  to  get  stories  of  Army  life  for  Citizen  readers.  This  is  the  second  of  several 
articles  he  will  write. 


7 


Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army. 

“The  first  thing  a  soldier  must  learn/’  he  said  that  same  evening, 
“is  cleanliness  of  body,  how  to  appear  neat  and  soldierly  in  his 
clothes,  and  how  to  behave  himself  inside  and  outside  the  post.” 

We  found  out  mighty  soon  what  Sergt.  Watt  meant  by  “cleanli¬ 
ness” — two  baths  a  week,  at  least;  teeth  cleaned  three  times  a  day; 
face  and  hands  scrubbed  with  hot  water  and  soap  before  every  meal; 
shoes  shined  at  least  twice  a  day;  clothes  always  spotless  and  pressed; 
shaves  at  least  twice  a  week,  and  every  man  is  supplied  with  four 
suits  of  underwear  and  six  pairs  of  socks  to  change  as  often  as  he 
wants  to. 

One  fellow  in  our  platoon  “complained,”  as  he  was  cleaning  his 
teeth : 

“I  don’t  suppose  I  ever  brushed  my  teeth  three  times  in  all  my  life 
before  I  joined  the  Army,”  he  said. 

SENT  ROOKIE  BACK  TO  WASH  HIS  FACE  RIGHT. 

At  the  first  drill  under  Sergt.  Watt  he  singled  out  one  of  the  boys. 

“Did  you  wash  your  face  this  morning,  young  man?” 

“Yes,  sir.” 

“Well,  go  back  and  try  it  over  again  and  this  time  put  a  little 
more  enthusiasm  and  soap  into  it.” 

At  first  drilling  is  tiresome  but  it’s  a  lot  of  fun. 

Some  of  the  fun  is  in  watching  the  awkward  recruit  and  in  pitying 
the  patient  drill  sergeant  as  he  tries  hour  after  hour  to  teach  him 
how  to  keep  step  and  to  distinguish  his  right  foot  from  his  left. 

I  watched  Sergt.  Donald  Williamson  one  day.  Out  of  eight  com¬ 
mands  “right  face,”  one  recruit  turned  to  the  left  seven  times.  He 
knew,  of  course,  his  right  hand  from  his  left,  hut  he  would  become 
confused  every  time  he  heard  the  command. 

“You  and  I’ll  learn  left  from  right  next  Sunday,”  said  the  ser¬ 
geant  in  despair.  Sunday  is  a  day  off  at  the  post. 

,  SOME  NEVER  CAN  LEARN. 

“About  one  recruit  in  every  thousand  is  absolutely  incapable  of 
distinguishing  left  from  right  or  of  learning  how  to  keep  step  with  his 
company,”  said  First  Sergt.  Stone.  “We  finally  switch  liim  from  one 
company  to  another,  and  if  nobody  can  drill  it  into  him  he’s  dismissed 
from  the  Army.” 

Flowever,  I  was  told  that  some  of  the  most  awkward  recruits  in 
a  few  months  make  the  best  drillers. 

One  big  fellow  in  our  platoon  was  made  to  stand  aside  nearly  all  of 
one  morning  because  he  couldn’t  keep  step  with  the  rest. 

But  he  wasn’t  half  as  discouraged  as  Sergt.  Watt.  After  drill  he 
said  to  the  sergeant: 

“I  am  as  clumsy  as  a  cow  now,  but  I’ll  learn  or  die.” 


8 


Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army. 


TOP  ROW  SHOWS  10  RE]CRUITS  THE  DAY  THEY  ENLISTED. 

BOTTOM  ROW  SHOWS  SAME  10  MEN,  IN  THE  SAME  RELATIVE  POSITIONS,  AFTER  12  DAYS  UNDER  THE  DRILL 
^  SERGEAY*TS. 


Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army. 


9 


MADE  OF  THE  RIGHT  STUFF. 

That  afternoon,  when  the  rest  of  us  were  enjoying  an  hour  off  he 
was  outside  the  barracks  with  a  couple  of  pals  practicing  with  dogged 
perseverance. 

He’ll  make  it,”  said  Sergt.  Watt.  ‘^He’s  got  good  stuff  in  him.” 

What’s  the  use  of  all  this  drilling  ? 

My  answer  would  be  that  there  never  was  a  machine  that  would  do 
perfect  work  unless  every  part  worked  smoothly  and  with  absolute 
precision.  And  that  goes  for  the  war  machine. 

There’s  no  doubt,  too,  that  drilling  gives  one  a  wonderful  ^‘set  up” 
feeling. 

It  made  me  realize  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  that  I  had  a  back¬ 
bone. 

BRACES  A  MAN  UP. 

After  drills  I  would  find  myself  walking  around  with  my  shoulders 
thrown  back,  head  up,  stomach  drawn  in,  and  hitting  the  ground  on 
the  balls  of  my  feet. 

There’s  no  room  in  the  United  States  Army  for  the  slouch. 

There’s  another  thing  that  distinguishes  the  Army  man,  and  drill 
and  discipline  does  it;  he  snaps  off  his  physical  movements  and  his 
mind  soon  comes  to  work  just  as  briskly. 

Army  life  makes  real  men  out  of  some  mighty  poor  specimens. 

Sergt.  Mike  Garvey  pointed  out  to  me  one  day  a  young  fellow  of  20 
who  looked  as  if  he  might  have  had  previous  training  in  a  military 
academy. 

AWAKENED  HIS  AMBITION. 

‘‘He  came  to  me  just  12  days  ago,”  said  the  sergeant.  “He  was 
all  bent  over,  carried  his  head  on  one  side,  had  no  ambition,  and 
couldn’t  concentrate  his  mind  on  the  simplest  commands.  I  won¬ 
dered  how  he  ever  got  past  the  receiving  station.” 

“How  did  you  transform  him?”  I  asked. 

“DriU  and  exercises.  He  woke  up  when  he  found  he  was  holding 
the  entire  platoon  back.  Now,  he’s  a  comer.” 

It  now  takes  Uncle  Sam  about  25  drill  days  to  whip  the  recruit  into 
shape  so  he  can  be  assigned  to  a  regiment  and  sent  away  from  the 
Columbus  Barracks. 

About  30  men  are  now  being  sent  out  every  day,  and  the  recruit¬ 
ing  rush  hasn’t  reaUy  begun. 

Two  of  my  iiew-made  acquaintances  left  this  week — one  for  a  fort 
in  Arizona  and  the  other  for  Coast  Artillery  duty  in  Rhode  Island. 

“And  just  think,”  said  one,  “just  five  weeks  ago  I  was  feeding  the 
cows  on  the  farm.” 

“And  I  was  tending  a  soda  water  fountain,”  said  the  other. 

Both  looked  the  part  of  real  fighting  men. 


10  Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army. 

[Issue  of  April  3,  1916.] 

UNCLE  SAM’S  SOLDIERS  LIVE  ON  “  FAT  OF  LAND  ”  AND  HAVE  PLENTY  OF 

TIME  FOR  PLAY.  SAYS  LYON— CITIZEN  REPORTER  WHO  JOINED  THE 

ARMY  DESCRIBES  LIFE  AT  COLUMBUS  BARRACKS. 

At  my  breakfast  in  the  Columbus  Barracks  mess  hall  a  20-year-old 
recruit  from  West  Virginia,  sitting  next  to  me,  ate  six  fried  eggs,  as 
many  slices  of  bacon,  a  grapefruit,  three  cups  of  coffee,  a  plateful  of 
potatoes,  and  I  donh  know  how  many  slices  of  bread  and  butter. 

A  sergeant  who  presided  at  the  head  of  our  table,  which  seated  11 
besides  myself,  called  a  waiter  and  ordered  aU  the  platters  replenished 
from  the  kitchen. 

Don’t  be  backward,  boys,”  he  encouraged.  ^^Wade  right  into 
the  grub.  It’s  a  rich  country  you’re  fighting  for.” 

I’d  often  heard  Uncle  Sam’s  fighters  are  the  best  fed  in  all  the 
world.  I  know  from  personal  experience  now  that  everything  served 
is  of  the  very  best  quality,  and  there  is  plenty  of  it. 

RECRUITS  PUT  ON  WEIGHT. 

I  gained  3  pounds  the  first  week  I  was  at  the  barracks,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  they  almost  drilled  the  legs  off  me  and  my  left  arm  was  sore 
from  vaccination  and  inoculation  and  my  right  arm  lame  from  having 
a  blood  pump  jammed  into  it. 

“I’m  afraid  you’re  not  doing  well,”  said  First  Sergt.  Stone  of  the 
Tenth  Company.  “The  average  recruit  gains  5  pounds  the  first  week 
and  7  pounds  the  second  week,  or  12  pounds  the  first  14  days  he’s 
at  the  barracks.” 

I  know  the  answer:  For  the  first  time  in  the  lives  of  nine-tenths 
of  the  boys  their  existence  becomes  ordered  and  regulated.  Every 
act  is  according  to  ofhcial  schedule:  Out  of  bed  exactly  at  6  a.  m.; 
15  minutes  to  make  up  bunks,  dress,  and  be  outside  for  roll  call; 
breakfast  at  6.45;  drills  at  7.15,  8.15,  and  9.15;  dinner  at  12  noon; 
recreation,  1  to  3;  retreat  at  4.30;  supper  at  5;  lights  out  at  9. 

The  Government  is  feeding  its  barracks  soldiers  for  a  little  more 
than  26  cents  a  day  per  man. 

Sergt.  John  F.  Wells  is  the  man  who  turns  the  trick  at  the  Columbus 
post. 

“I’m  held  responsible  for  results  just  as  the  drill  sergeants  are,” 
said  Sergt.  WeUs.  “  I  have  to  feed  the  hundreds  of  recruits  so  they  11 
have  strength  and  muscle  for  the  rigorous  physical  training  they  get.” 

-All  the  cooking  and  serving  of  food  is  done  by  the  soldiers  them¬ 
selves.  The  cooks  qualify  as  “Army  cooks”  and  get  a  sergeant’s 
pay,  plus  $15  a  month.  All  the  other  work — such  as  waiting  table, 
drying  the  dishes  and  silverware — falls  to  the  lot  of  the  recruits. 
Each  recruit  puts  in  about  1  day  in  every  10  doing  “kitchen  police.” 


Editor’s  note. — C.  C.  Lyon,  Citizen  reporter,  is  in  the  United  States  Regular  Army,  stationed  at  the 
Columbus  Barracks,  to  write  Army  stories  for  Citizen  readers.  This  is  the  third  of  3  series  of  articles. 


Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army.  1  1 


PLATOON  OF  RECRUITS  AT  COLUMBUS  BARRACKS. 


12  Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army. 

I  wiped  something  like  1,100  dishes  the  day  I  was  on  duty  and 
thought  it  fun.  And  I  used  to  kick  when  my  wife  asked  me  to  wipe 
15  or  20. 

POINTS  OF  A  SOLDIER. 

In  developing  a  recruit  into  a  real  soldier,  Army  officials  lay  stress 
on  three  things — drilling,  eating,  and  recreation.  I’ve  told  about 
the  first  two.  Now,  something  about  Army  recreation. 

Right  after  dinner  every  day,  except  Sunday,  we  would  change 
from  our  soldier  uniforms  into  our  “recreation  clothes,”  which  con¬ 
sisted  of  pants  and  blouse  made  of  overall  material. 

They  marched  hundreds  of  us  to  the  big  drill  haU.  There  we 
found  boxing  gloves,  medicine  balls,  and  a  lot  of  other  gymnasium 
paraphernalia. 

They  divided  us  into  four  groups.  A  big,  fat,  jolly  sergeant  led 
the  bunch  I  was  in. 

“I’ve  seen  28  years  in  the  service,  am  fat,  and  no  longer  a  spring 
chicken,”  he  told  us  the’ first  day.  “If  I  can  stand  these  stunts  you 
young  fellows  ought  to.” 

HAVE  STRENUOUS  EXERCISES. 

He  ran  us  around  for  15  minutes,  passed  the  medicine  ball  for 
another  quarter  hour,  and  then  showed  us  all  sorts  of  indoor  games 
and  leg  and  arm  exercises,  aU  fun,  but  carefully  designed  to  strengthen 
our  bodies. 

“Now  for  the  boxing  gloves,”  he  said,  and  a  shout  of  approval 
went  up  from  all  of  us. 

In  the  Army  they  teach  you  to  fight  with  your  hands  as  well  as 
with  a  gun. 

I  was  fairly  itching  to  put  the  gloves  on,  but  the  scramble  was  so 
great  I  didn’t  get  a  chance  until  a  big  6-footer  took  the  center  of  the 
ring. 

He  looked  like  a  white  hope,  every  inch  of  him. 

“He’s  the  post  champion,”  a  recruit  whispered  to  me.  “He’s  got 
a  punch  like  a  mule  kick.” 

“Now’s  your  chance,  Lyon,”  the  sergeant  called  out. 

But  just  at  that  moment  my  vaccinated  arm  began  hurting  me 
something  terrible. 

THEY  ALL  HAVE  ALIBIS. 

“My  arm’s  too  sore  to-day,  sergeant,”  I  said.  “I  can  hardly  lift 
it.” 

I  looked  around  and  nearly  everybody  else  in  the  big  circle  was 
likewise  nursing  a  sore  arm. 

Later,  I  took  on  a  fellow  as  inexperienced  as  myself.  The  post 
doctors  are  confident  he  will  recover. 


Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army.  13 

While  a  mass  of  us  were  thus  enjoying  ourselves,  noncommissioned 
officers  had  scores  of  other  young  fellows  in  another  part  of  the 
reservation  training  them  for  the  coming  baseball  season. 

Some  of  the  best  amateur  teams  in  the  country  are  to  be  found  in 
the  Army. 

Wlienever  a  good  baseball,  football,  or  basket  ball  player  enlists, 
there’s  always  a  good  deal  of  wirepulling  among  companies  to  land 
him.  I’m  told  that  often  high  Army  officers  take  part  in  this  good- 
natured  wirepulling. 


HAVE  ATHLETIC  TROPHIES. 

The  Tenth  Company,  my  own  organization,  has  a  number  of  beau¬ 
tiful  silver  cups  won  in  post  athletic  contests. 

A  good  baseball  or  football  player  is  seldom  sent  away  from  the  post 
to  join  a  regiment  during  the  baseball  or  football  season. 

The  Columbus  Barracks  has  free  bowling  alleys  and  all  recruits  are 
urged  to  use  them.  A  big  pool  and  billiard  room  is  also  provided, 
where  they  can  play  at  half  the  cost  outside  the  post. 

A  well-stocked  library  and  reading  room  is  also  maintained  for 
the  men. 


[Issue  of  April  4,  1916.] 

ARMY  PRIVATE  HAS  CHANCE  TO  BE  AN  OFFICER— AFTER  TWO  YEARS’ 
SERVICE  HE  MAY  TAKE  AN  EXAM  FOR  SECOND  LIEUTENANCY. 

WTiat  chance  has  an  enhsted  man  for  promotion  and  bigger  pay  in 
the  Regular  Army  ? 

I’m  going  to  draw  no  conclusions  of  my  own  that  would  influence 
any  young  man  to  join  the  Army.  I’m  only  going  to  repeat  what 
several  men  already  in  the  service  told  me. 

‘^Everything  depends  on  the  enlisted  man  himself,”  said  a  sergeant 
with  28  years  of  Army  experience  behind  him. 

He  draws  $48  a  month  pay,  and  when  he  goes  on  the  retired  hst  in 
two  more  years  Uncle  Sam  will  pay  him  $67.50  a  month  for  the  rest  of 
his  hfe,  provided  he  is  made  a  first  sergeant  by  that  time.  And  it  is 
customary  for  that  promotion  to  be  made  where  a  man’s  record  has 
been  good. 

This  particular  sergeant  is  now  45  years  old.  “How  many  men  at 
47  can  show  as  much  as  I’ll  be  able  to  show?”  he  asked.  “I’m  more 
than  satisfied  with  Army  life.” 


Editor’s  note. — This  is  the  fourth  and  last  of  a  series  of  articles  on  the  Regular  Army  by  C.  C.  Lyon, 
reporter  for  the  Citizen.  Lyon  spent  some  time  at  the  Columbus  Barracks,  eating,  sleeping,  and  drilling 
with  hundreds  of  recruits. 


14  Exp  erience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army 


RECRUITS  BOXING  AT  COLUMBUS  BARRACKS. 


Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army.  1  5 

it’s  not  all  sunshine. 

I  got  the  other  side  from  a  private  who  has  had  more  than  20 
years’  service. 

‘‘I  made  the  mistake  of  my  hfe  when  I  first  went  into  the  Army,” 
he  said.  ‘ ‘I’ve  been  a  sergeant  several  times  and  a  first  sergeant  once, 
but  I  didnH  behave  myself  and  here  I  am  back  with  the  privates.” 

This  fellow  apparently  had  lost  his  “punch”  and  was  sticking  in 
the  Army  because  he  thought  himself  too  old  to  tackle  civilian  life 
anew. 

“There’s  nothing  in  Army  life  as  a  career,”  he  said,  “unless  the  boy 
is  determined  right  from  the  start  to  make  a  success  of  it.  Other¬ 
wise,  it  becomes  merely  a  place  to  put  in  time.” 

WHAT  A  SOLDIER  EARNS. 

The  minimum  pay  for  an  enlisted  private  is  $15  a  month,  for  a 
corporal  $21,  and  for  a  sergeant  $30.  There  is  an  increase  of  $3 
a  month  for  each  three-year  reenlistinent  up  to  the  seyenth  by 
corporals  and  sergeants,  giving  them  maximums  of  $39  and  $48, 
respectively.  The  maximum  for  a  private  is  $24.  First  sergeants 
get  from  $45  to  $69  a  month,  according  to  length  of  service. 

A  number  of  the  noncommissioned  officers  are  married.  The 
Government  pays  these  men  “ration  money”  amounting  now  to  an 
additional  25  cents  a  day,  and,  furthermore,  permits  them  to  buy 
food  supplies  for  their  families  from  the  Army  store  rooms  at  actual 
Government  cost.  Noncommissioned  officers  also  are  furnished  all 
their  military  wearing  apparel  free. 

NO  PLACE  FOR  A  LOAFER. 

“If  a  young  fellow  hasn’t  the  stuff  in  him  to  justify  us  in  promot¬ 
ing  him  to  the  noncommissioned  ranks,  he’d  better  quit  the  Army 
after  his  first  enlistment,”  a  commissioned  officer  of  high  rank  de¬ 
clared. 

He  was  speaking  of  the  fellows  who  go  into  the  Army  with  the 
idea  of  sticking,  one  enlistment  after  another. 

An  enlisted  private  becomes  a  noncommissioned  officer  on  the 
*  recommendation  of  his  company  commander. 

It  doesn’t  take  the  commanders  long  to  spot  the  “comers.”  Out 
of  the  60  who  enlisted  the  day  I  myself  went  into  the  Army,  I  thought 
f  I  could  pick  at  least  10  who  would  at  least  be  corporals  before  their 
enlistment  expired. 

They  were  the  chaps  who  showed  the  most  aptitude  in  drill,  ap¬ 
peared  neatest  and  trimmest  in  their  uniforms,  and  put  “punch” 
into  everything  they  did,  whether  in  the  barracks,  on  the  drill 
grounds,  or  at  play. 


16  Experience  of  a  Recruit  in  the  United  States  Army. 

MAY  BE  AN  OFFICEK. 

Nowadays  an  enlisted  man  has  a  chance  to  win  a  commission  in  the 
Army.  After  two  years’  service  he  may  come  up  for  examination 
along  with  other  enlisted  men,  and  the  topnotchers  get  the  shoulder 
straps.  They  go  in  on  the  same  footing  as  graduates  from  West 
Point— second  lieutenants.  •  f 

I  talked  with  several  young  men  who  were  spending  their  evenings 
in  the  post  library  getting  ready  for  the  examinations. 

In  time  of  actual  war  chances  for  the  advancement  of  enlisted  * 
men  and  noncommissioned  officers  would  be  much  better. 

^‘I’m  almost  certain  to  be  made  a  captain  if  war  is  ever  declared,” 
a  sergeant  told  me.  ‘‘In  actual  war  the  Army  would  need  many 
additional  commissioned  officers.” 

NEVER  TALK  OF  DEATH. 

In  all  my  time  at  the  Columbus  Barracks  I  never  heard  any 
soldier — private,  noncommissioned,  or  commissioned — speak  of  the 
possibility  of  getting  killed. 

Sergt.  Watt,  my  drillmaster,  in  a  lecture  one  day  had  this  to  say: 

‘  ‘ Disease,  you’ll  find,  kills  many  more  soldiers  than  bullets.  That’s 
why  the  Government  is  so  determined  that  every  soldier  shall  have 
a  sound  body  and  know  how  to  take  care  of  it.” 

Just  now  there  are  thousands  of  young  fellows  throughout  the 
country  trying  to  decide  whether  they’ll  join  the  Army. 

WHAT  ARMY  OFFERS. 

Each  one  must  decide  for  himself.  I  can  only  furnish  him  with 
these  facts,  gained  from  my  owm  personal  experience: 

Army  drill  and  exercise  is  bound  to  improve  the  physical  being  of 
every  man  who  enters. 

In  the  barracks  the  food  is  first  class. 

The  recreation  periods  furnish  more  fun  and  amusement  than  the 
average  young  fellow  ever  finds  on  the  outside. 

The  pay  is  small  for  privates,  but  practically  everything  is  fur¬ 
nished  him  and  he  has  his  pay  for  spending  money. 

The  bright,  alert  chaps  get  the  promotions. 


o 


